Preparation

Season pork with salt and pepper. Heat 1/4 cup oil in a large heavy pot over medium-high heat. Working in batches, cook meat, turning occasionally, until browned, 10–15 minutes; transfer to a large plate.

Drain all but 2 tablespoons fat from pot. Reduce heat to medium and cook onion, carrot, celery, and garlic, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, 8–10 minutes. Tie rosemary, oregano, and bay leaf into a bundle with kitchen twine; add to pot along with pork, tomatoes, wine, peppercorns, nutmeg, and cloves. Add water just to cover meat and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer, adding more water as needed, until meat is very tender, 1–1 1/2 hours.

Add currants, if using, and kale to ragù; cook until kale is soft, about 4 minutes. Add pasta; cook, adding reserved pasta cooking liquid as needed, until sauce coats pasta. Mix in butter and 1/2 cup Parmesan; season with salt and pepper. Serve pasta drizzled with oil and topped with more Parmesan.

DO AHEAD: Pork can be cooked (do not shred) 2 days ahead. Let cool in braising liquid; cover and chill.

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Reviews

Rich and delicious!!!!! I made one major change. After sauteing the ingredients I put everything in the crock pot and cooked it on low for 8 hours. WOW the pork fell apart and the flavors were wonderful. I served it over pappardelle which are one one my favorite pastas. I also think it would be good with polenta or gnocchi. Oh I did not add the butter or but decided to throw in some pine nuts when it was done. Made for a nice addition.

I made this sauce as an alternative to traditional pizza sauce for a grill your own pizza party and it dissapeared by the spoonful! Luckily I left enough at home to have over pasta the next day. This beautiful, simple sauce is easy enough for a casual dinner and delicious enough to impress anybody. I followed the recipe nearly exactly. I will definitely make a double or triple batch next time so I can freeze a couple of portions for a quick meal. So good!

Delicious and made the house smell good! My 10-yr-old even asked to have it in her school lunch tomorrow. We all thought the 1-1/2 lbs of pork shoulder was the perfect amount of meat in this dish -- perfect balance of meat sauce to pasta. It seemed to definitely make 6 servings -- it wouldn't be enough for 6 people if you wanted anyone to be able to have second helpings. I skipped the currants and kale, but we might try kale the next time. Definitely needed the full 1-1/2 hrs for the meat to fall apart. Good with a salad & crusty Italian bread. I'll be making this again soon!

Doubled the recipe and used a 4 lb. pork butt for 8 people at Christmas. Had enough leftover for 8 more. Everyone thought it was the best Christmas meal ever. Made it the day ahead, reheated & shredded pork with forks. Time consuming to shred but worth it. Next time I'll try the potato masher. Left out the kale. Will definitely make again.

Aside from the misprint, this as a good recipe for a snowy day. I doubled it because I had almost 4 lbs of pork butt. It still had not released all of it's fat after 3 hours at a simmer, so I turned the heat up at the end, used a potato masher to shred the pork, let it cool, and skimmed off about 1/2 cup of fat. Instead of putting the butter in the meat, I buttered the noodles before mixing them in. I only used enough to coat the Cavatelli. Rich enough to energize us through shoveling 4 inches of rained on snow.
PSMy husband called it Italian pulled pork, and he put the leftovers in our enchiladas.

This is a question: 1&1/2 pounds pork or 11&1/2 pounds pork? Hard to tell in the magazine itself, & more confusing as printed on the web. Pork shoulders in my market are around 4 pounds, so neither is obvious. Also, 1 1/2 lbs for 8 people sounds minimal, while 11 1/2 sounds over the top. I'm making it today with 1 1/2 lbs.